Lawyer: Items found during search of Levon Kocharyan`s home do not  bear any signs of being illegally acquired

ArmInfo. The items found and seized during a search of the home of Levon Kocharyan, a member of  the National Assembly of Armenia from the opposition Armenia faction  and son of second President Robert Kocharyan, do not bear any signs  of being illegally acquired.  Kocharyan's lawyer, Erik Aleksanyan,  told reporters on August 25.

According to him, law enforcement officers spent seven hours  searching for documents and electronic media that could be relevant  to the case. "I can't provide all the factual circumstances due to  the confidentiality of the preliminary investigation, but the general  gist is this: they were looking for something that would contain  information about past abuse of official power, money laundering, and  illegal business activities. Specifically, documents, electronic  media, and drafts that would contain information about property of  illegal origin. However, nothing found during the search showed any  signs of illegally acquired property," the lawyer stated.

Mostly, as Aleksanyan explained, these were souvenirs or items that  could have no connection to the actual circumstances of the case.  "However, the question may arise as to why they needed these items  then. The body conducting the proceedings explains that they intend  to conduct an investigation and determine what they might be  connected to. But I will say that these items are of such a nature  that no investigation is necessary," the lawyer stated.

Meanwhile, Aleksanyan recalled that Levon Kocharyan is a member of  parliament, so the following question must be raised: are these  searches legal or not, and why. "The answer is obvious - they are  illegal.  Because, as a member of parliament, Levon Kocharyan enjoys  immunity. De jure, Kocharyan currently has no status, but de facto,  he is being charged, since the search presupposes the discovery of  signs of a crime.  Therefore, in fact, this is a criminal  prosecution, which means that the Prosecutor General of Armenia  should have appeared in parliament before the searches to obtain  permission. Moreover, this is not the only reason why these searches  can be considered illegal. At the time of the searches, Kocharyan's  young child and two minors were at home," the lawyer noted.

Levon Kocharyan himself, for his part, noted that the searches were  nothing unexpected. "This is the usual style of a vile traitor. The  media even reported on this yesterday-that such actions were  expected," the opposition leader noted.

At the same time, Kocharyan stated that he does not connect the  events solely to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's speech  yesterday. As the MP noted, such statements are not the first. "All  this is connected to our opposition activities, in particular, our  expression of disagreement with the government's policies. But we are  prepared for anything; this is not the first time this has happened.  And the same awaits anyone who tries to speak out against these  authorities," Kocharyan concluded.

In the morning, it was reported that security forces, following the  search, took second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan to the  Anti-Corruption Committee. Furthermore, searches were also conducted  at Levon Kocharyan's home in the early morning of August 25. They  lasted seven hours. It also became known that searches were being  conducted at dozens of addresses of companies belonging to the  Kocharyan family.  Later, the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia  confirmed the detention of Robert Kocharyan and his son, Sedrak  Kocharyan. Aram Orbelyan, the lawyer for the second president of  Armenia, reported that Kocharyan was detained on charges similar to  those brought against him following the June parliamentary elections  in Armenia. Orbelyan specified that the charges relate to Kocharyan's  ratification of certain government decisions during his presidency. A  little later, the office of the second president of Armenia reported  that Robert Kocharyan had been hospitalized from the Anti-Corruption  Committee building due to a previous operation. It is noteworthy that  the day before, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ordered law  enforcement agencies to strip Kocharyan and the third president of  the Republic, Serzh Sargsyan, of their property.